Living with… paranoid schizophrenia

Clare Wood describes her struggle with paranoid schizophrenia and encourages mental health nurses to be positive, encourage hope, show empathy and understand that recovery is unique for each person
This article is about my experiences of living with paranoid schizophrenia. In writing it I had two aims: to educate mental health nurses about my own personal experiences of recovery, and to help myself.
Writing this has been a creative and therapeutic activity. I also believe that if people read this article and improvements to mental health practice are made, then I am making a valuable contribution to society.
Three most common symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia
My symptoms are as follows: hearing voices, paranoid thinking, depression, agitation, anxiety, lack of concentration, lack of motivation and social isolation.
The three most common symptoms are:
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